Nazi symbols CAN’T BE removed from graves of German POWs at VA cemeteries because they are protected history

NAZI symbols won't be removed from the graves of German prisoners of war because they are part of protected history, the Department of Veteran Affairs has said.

A call had been made by the The Military Religious Freedom Foundation for the replacement of the symbols, which appear on headstones at the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in Texas.

3

Nazi symbols won't be removed from the graves of German prisoners of war at US national cemeteries, the Department of Veteran Affairs has saidCredit: Annette Epps Alva/Findagrave.com

3

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation has called on VA Secretary Robert Wilkie to have the symbols removedCredit: Alamy Live News

As well as a swastika inside an Iron Cross, the graves feature the inscription: "He died far from his home for the Führer, people and fatherland."

The symbols appear on two graves at the site in Texas and also on one at Fort Douglas Post Cemetery in Utah.

Both cemeteries are run by the Veteran Affairs department.

The graves are those of German prisoners of war who died while being held at US camps and were reinterred after the camps were closed.

Attention was first drawn to them by a retired US colonel when he visited the resting place of his grandfather, who fought in the Second World War.

A statement by the The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) read: "The MRFF hereby demands that V.A. Secretary Robert Wilkie IMMEDIATELY replace the gravestones of all German military personnel interred in V.A. National Cemeteries."

It said the change would mean that "ABSOLUTELY NO Nazi-era symbols, such as the repulsive swastika, and no homages to Adolph Hitler, or the German people and the German fatherland he led as the evil Fuhrer of the Third Reich, will ever again be allowed to appear on such gravestones in V.A. National Cemeteries maintained by U.S. taxpayer dollars."

It went on to ask Wilkie to account for "WHY ANY such former enemy military personnel are even buried In V.A. National Cemeteries, in the first place, alongside our honored deceased American veterans?"

But the Veteran Affairs Department declined to request, saying it would continue to "preserve these headstones" as "historic resources".

A National Cemetery Administration spokesman said in a statement: "All of the headstones date back to the 1940s, when the Army approved the inscriptions in question.

MOST READ IN US NEWS

HOUSE OF HORRORS

Corpses of military dad, wife, kids & pets found in 'booby-trapped' house

'I'VE GOT A TAN'

Man in BLACKFACE dragged through crowd after arrest at anti-racism event

SOCIAL JUSTICE OR SOCIAL DISTANCE?

Experts fear large protests could lead to new outbreaks

'MAJOR INSTIGATOR'

Buffalo mayor claims protester pushed to ground was 'an agitator'

bezos bites back

SWARM WARNING

Chinese soldiers show off FLAMETHROWERS used to kill murder hornets

"The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 assigns stewardship responsibilities to federal agencies, including VA and Army, to protect historic resources, including those that recognize divisive historical figures or events."

The United States had around 700 prisoners of war by the end of the Second World War, the majority of whom were repatriated.

3

The Veteran Affairs Department said it would continue to 'preserve these headstones' as 'historic resources'Credit: Military Religious Freedom Foundation